@Article{UtzonFrank2014, author = "Utzon-Frank, Nicolai and Breinegaard, Nina and Bertelsen, Mette and Borritz, Marianne and Eller, Nanna Hurwitz and Nordentoft, Mads and Olesen, Kasper and Rod, Naja H. and Rugulies, Reiner and Bonde, Jens Peter", title = "Occurrence of delayed-onset post-traumatic stress disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies", journal = "Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health", year = "2014", month = "May", day = "40", number = "3", pages = "215--229", keywords = "accident; catastrophe; deployment; disaster; mental disease; meta-analysis; post-traumatic stress disorder; PTSD; review; systematic review; trajectory", abstract = "'
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OBJECTIVE ': 'Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops according to consensus criteria within the first 1–6 months after a horrifying traumatic event, but it is alleged that PTSD may develop later. The objective was to review the evidence addressing occurrence of PTSD with onset >6 months after a traumatic event (delayed-onset PTSD).
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METHODS ': 'Through a systematic search in PubMed, EMBASE, and PsycINFO, we identified 39 studies with prospective ascertainment of PTSD. A meta-analysis was performed in order to obtain a weighted estimate of the average proportion of delayed-onset PTSD cases, and meta-regression was used to examine effects of several characteristics
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RESULTS ': 'Delayed-onset PTSD was reported in all studies except one, and the average prevalence across all follow-up time was 5.6% [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 4.3–7.3%]. The proportion with delayed-onset PTSD relative to all cases of PTSD was on average 24.5% (95% CI 19.5–30.3%) with large variation across studies. In six studies with sub-threshold symptom data, delayed-onset PTSD seemed most likely an aggravation of early symptoms. The proportion with delayed-onset PTSD was almost twice as high among veterans and other professional groups compared to non-professional victims.
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CONCLUSION ': 'Descriptive follow-up data suggest that PTSD may manifest itself >6 months after a traumatic event, delayed-onset PTSD most often, if not always, is preceded by sub-threshold PTSD symptoms, and a higher proportion of PTSD cases are delayed among professional groups. Contextual factors and biased recall may inflate reporting of PTSD and a cautious interpretation of prevalence rates seems prudent.
", issn = "0355-3140", doi = "10.5271/sjweh.3420", url = "https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=3420", url = "https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3420" }